One of the greatest costs to participants in the retail industry is shrinkage. Shrinkage refers to any reduction in inventory which is available for sale and is typically caused by theft (e.g., either shoplifting or employee theft), waste (e.g., breakage), supplier fraud, or errors (e.g., accounting errors). The average loss to shrinkage for a participant in the retail industry is about 2% of sales. According to the National Retail Security Survey on retail theft, losses due to shrinkage cost retailers more than $49 billion in 2016.
While security measures such as cameras and digitized tags that set off alarms have helped reduce losses due to shrinkage, retailers still struggle to further reduce losses. Some retailers have opted to reduce losses due to shrinkage by locking up high-dollar items, which are typically the targets of theft, so that the items need to be retrieved by a retail employee before they can be purchased by a consumer. However, this solution creates a significant strain on retail employees who may be too busy to retrieve the item. Additionally, this solution may cause consumers to become frustrated and leave without completing an intended purchase if they are unable to find an employee that can retrieve an item. Locking up of products tends to inhibit sales, and thereby tends to negatively impact revenue.
Embodiments of the invention address these and other problems, individually and collectively.